Barclaycard US Campaign Strikes Gold in 2009 International MarCom Awards
Associates Graphic Services Orchestrates Production and Delivery of Award Winning US Airways Dividend Miles Campaign
Wilmington, DE, November 18, 2009 -- The Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals recognized Associates Graphic Services (AGS), Barclaycard US and US Airways’ frequent flyer program, Dividend Miles, as a Gold Winner in its annual marketing and communications awards. Barclaycard and AGS, a graphic communications company, were recognized for their US Airways Dividend Miles card program’s communication materials, including marketing collateral and a microsite.
The MarCom Awards are an international competition for marketing and communication professionals involved in the concept, writing and design of marketing and communication programs using print, visual and audio materials. Entries come from corporate marketing and communication departments, advertising agencies, public relations firms, design shops, production companies and freelancers. The award signifies the attention to detail and creative achievement of Platinum and Gold Winners. AGS will receive a statuette for its role in leading the development of these creative marketing communication materials.
“The overarching strategy of this initiative was to deliver dynamic, upbeat, engaging and personal communication that conveys trust and customer centricity presented in a fresh, personal and conversational tone,” said Michelle Bottomley, Chief Marketing Officer- Barclaycard US. “We feel the results indicate we were successful.”
AGS’s integrated marketing approach leveraged both traditional and non-traditional marketing methods – direct mail, email and personalized URL’s (Purl’s). The direct mail and email blasts lead customers to their individual, personalized microsite, where Barclaycard and US Airways communicated the new program benefits, individual offers and unique value propositions. Downloadable widgets reminded consumers when to activate their new card to ensure they received their benefits.
“The creative and customized microsite made it fun for our members to login and learn about our program’s benefits,” said Fernand Fernandez, US Airways. ”Our partnership with Barclaycard US and AGS allowed us to easily engage our Dividend Miles members while communicating member benefits.”
Although the program has additional implementation phases, to date the campaign has far surpassed typical industry response rates. “When highly relevant, multi-channel communications meet up with a compelling value proposition, we see high consumer engagement,” Ms. Bottomley said. Response rates for this campaign have topped 13 percent.
About Associates Graphic Services
Associates Graphic Services is a graphics communication company located in Wilmington, DE. Now in its 36
th year, AGS is one of the East Coast’s leading providers of digital, print and web technology solutions for marketing communication professionals. Services include integrated marketing campaigns, digital and commercial printing, variable data printing (VDP), web-to-print storefronts, personalized URL’s, mailing, lettershop and bindery services. For more information please visit
www.agsprint.com.
About Barclaycard US
Headquartered in Wilmington, DE, Barclaycard US creates customized, co-branded credit card programs for some of the country’s most successful travel, entertainment, retail and financial institutions. The company employs 1.400 associates and was named a Top Employer in Delaware in 2009. For more information please visit
www.barclaycardus.com.
About Barclaycard
Barclaycard, part of Barclays Global and Retail Commercial Banking division, is a leading global payment business which helps consumers, retailers and businesses to make and accept payments flexibly and to access short-term credit when needed.
The company is one of the pioneers of new forms of payments and is at the forefront of developing viable contactless and mobile payment schemes for today and cutting edge forms of payment for the future. It also issues credit and charge cards to corporate customers and the UK Government.
Barclaycard partners with a wide range of organizations across the globe to offer their customers or members payment options and credit.
In addition to the UK and US, Barclaycard operates in Europe, Africa, and the Middle and Far East.
Key facts:
- Number of UK customers: 11.9m
- Number of International customers: 11.8m
- Number of retailer/merchant relationships: 88,000
About US Airways
US Airways, along with US Airways Shuttle and US Airways Express, operates more than 3,000 flights per day and serves more than 190 communities in the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Middle East, the Caribbean and Latin America. The airline employs more than 32,000 aviation professionals worldwide and is a member of the Star Alliance network, which offers its customers more than 19,000 daily flights to 1,071 airports in 171 countries. Together with its US Airways Express partners, the airline serves approximately 80 million passengers each year and operates hubs in Charlotte, N.C., Philadelphia and Phoenix, and a focus city at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. And for the eleventh consecutive year, the airline received a Diamond Award for maintenance training excellence from the Federal Aviation Administration for its Charlotte hub line maintenance facility. For more company information, visit usairways.com. (LCCG)
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